Renault’s Vasseur steps down

2017 F1 season

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Renault team principal Frederic Vasseur has stepped down, the team has announced.

“Renault Sport Racing announces that Frédéric Vasseur is leaving his role as Team Principal of the Renault Sport Formula One Team,” the team announced in astatement.

“After a first season spent relaunching and rebuilding its Formula 1 team, Renault Sport Racing and Frédéric Vasseur have agreed by mutual consent to part company, effective as of today.

“Both parties remain committed to maintaining the good working relationship they have enjoyed and expect this to take a new form sometime in the future.

“The outlook of Renault’s second season back in Formula 1, as well as the resources implemented to meet them, will be set out in detail at the presentation of the team’s new race car.

“The Renault Sport Racing and the Formula 1 team continue to be managed by Jérôme Stoll, its President, and Cyril Abiteboul, its Managing Director.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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23 comments on “Renault’s Vasseur steps down”

  1. Looks like this is the first ‘surprise’ from Renault in 2017 :p

  2. The Hulk just announced surprises from Renault in 2017 and the delivered immediately…

  3. Is this the surprise Hulkenberg was talking about in today’s news round-up?

  4. So they guy who actually knows a thing or two about running a proper racing team gets stepped down to leave in charge the dude who’s legacy is failure, and falling up the ladder for it.

    If anyone had any doubt that Nico Hülkenberg is the unluckiest guy in F1, this should put that to rest.

    1. I wanted to say the same thing, but could have put it better myself. :)

      As soon as I saw the headline, I knew this was about powerstruggle with Abiteboul, and from what I know, Vasseur was brought in because of his achievements in leading racing teams. Abiteboul on the other hand, seems to be a guy who is refusing to let go, despite not having any sort of concrete role of achievement to look back at.

  5. Could this mean that it is Renault, not Williams, the new destination for Paddy Lowe?

    1. My thought instantly. Surely team principal is his goal after leaving Merc

  6. Is Briatore coming back? Should be a surprise…. Symonds leaving Williams for Renault?

  7. Shocking: I had never even heard of Vasseur.
    Renault’s own F1 page lists him as Racing Director.

  8. Renault were starting to look a bit top heavy, but I am surprised that it is Vasseur who has had to make way and not Abiteboul. Vasseur is a seasoned racer with a track record of success, Abiteboul has achieved relatively little from what I can see.

    1. YES SIR…Spot on.
      And KMag was so right on living ;0)

    2. @geemac He wasn’t fired, he resigned, presumably because of a better offer, which is worrying for the team in of itself. It’s a team with a slender array of truly creditable personnel, and technical director Nick Chester does not make that list, and a one-sided driver line-up, so no, Nico, I don’t think Renault will surprise in 2017.

      http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/127708/vasseur-explains-decision-to-leave-renault

  9. Dammit… Why couldn’t Abiteboul have gone instead… Poor Hulky…

    1. Magnussen’s decision to leave makes a lot more sense now.

  10. Unless Paddy Lowe or someone else with as much pedigree is heading over to Renault, firing Vasseur, a seasoned achiever in motorsport after just one year with the team is not good for Renault.
    It is quite surprising to hear Vasseur is leaving after all the hype and press from Rensult release when he joined the team. It is even more intriguing that his spell with the team was very short.

    1. * after all the hype and press release from Renault when he joined the team

  11. Not filling me with confidence.

    First they downplay the potential PU performance for the start of the season. Now Fred “steps down” (also known as pushed).

    2015 performance coming up?

  12. …and is probably on his way to a team that provide him with the cheque and standing at the front of the grid that his enormous talents deserve. There are few in the paddock I respect more than Vasseur: he has a knowledge of young drivers and driver development probably matched only by Trevor Carlin, and was responsible for the creation of probably the greatest stalwart powerhouse in the junior series in the ASM/ART outfit. He is both a gifted engineer, an excellent manager and probably made the most mature decision in his life when he folded ART’s bid to enter F1 in 2011 so to continue to focus on the junior series.

    So, flip a coin. Where will he end up? Mercedes, replacing Lowe and deepening a relationship first made with the marque through a Mercedes engine supply to ASM in F3 and continued into the ART’s squad’s running of the C-Klasse DTM, or McLaren, building on the ART GP2 squad’s status as the McLaren-Honda official feeder team, and as a further layer of latticework to the post-Ron structure in the team?

    1. Mercedes kinda makes sense… He officially steps down the day after Mercedes confirm Lowe is going.

  13. This just sounds wrong. Vasseur has run successfull race teams before as opposed to Abiteboul. I feel sorry for Hulkenberg. I think Renault might find it difficult again this year. Must have some sort of power struggle at the top.

  14. Peppermint-Lemon (@)
    11th January 2017, 19:57

    These F1 teams just need to let people work and gain stability etc not chop and change just because they think they read the tea leaves or the wind changed direction.

  15. Remember when Perez said something didnt smell right at RENAULT.

    Hulkenberg BAD LUCK here we come.

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